Most wildflower mixes sold in Canada are built around whatever germinates reliably and photographs well. Ours are built around what actually belongs here. The Great Lakes blend in our Ontario seed bombs contains nine native species, each chosen for a specific reason. Here is what is in it and why every species earned its place.

Why the Blend Matters

A wildflower mix is only as good as the species in it. Generic mixes sold at garden centres often contain European or American prairie species that have no ecological relationship with Ontario's native pollinators. They look fine, germinate quickly, and do almost nothing for the bees, butterflies, and birds that actually live in the area.

Our Ontario blend is built exclusively from species native to the Great Lakes region. Each one has co-evolved with local pollinators over thousands of years. That relationship is what makes native planting meaningful rather than decorative. A black-eyed Susan in a Toronto vacant lot feeds the native bees that are already there. A packet of mixed European annuals does not.

We also source single species from Canadian suppliers rather than blended mixes.  You can read more about our approach to sourcing in our post on what makes a seed bomb actually work.

Black-Eyed Susan

Black-eyed Susan is the anchor of the blend for good reason. It is one of the most reliable native perennials in Ontario, blooming from July through September and providing a consistent nectar source across the peak pollinator season. It establishes readily in disturbed urban soil, tolerates drought once rooted, and self-seeds moderately, meaning a planting site that works will continue producing plants year after year without intervention.

It also provides late-season seed heads that overwinter on the stem, feeding goldfinches and sparrows through fall and early winter. In urban environments with limited food sources for birds, that matters.

Purple Prairie Clover

Purple prairie clover is the nitrogen fixer in the blend. Like all legumes, it forms a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria that pulls nitrogen from the air and converts it into a form plants can use. In the depleted urban soil where most of our seed bombs land, this is a meaningful contribution. A planting site with purple prairie clover in it becomes slightly more fertile over time, which benefits every other plant in the area.

It also blooms in a distinctive cylindrical spiral from the base upward, which makes it a favourite of native bumblebees. The bloom period runs from June through August, filling the middle of the pollinator season between early and late-blooming species in the mix.

Wild Bergamot, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Canada Tick Trefoil, and Blanket Flower

These four species each sit at 12% and collectively form the structural core of the pollinator support in the blend.

Wild bergamot is a native mint that blooms lavender-pink from July through August and is one of the most important native bee plants in eastern North America. It supports over 130 species of native bees including several specialist species that feed only on plants in the mint family.

Lanceleaf coreopsis blooms bright yellow from June through August and is exceptionally tolerant of poor, sandy, or compacted soil. It is one of the better performers in the difficult urban conditions where seed bombs are most often used, and its open flower structure makes it accessible to a wide range of pollinator species including smaller native bees that cannot access more complex flower shapes.

Canada tick trefoil, also called showy tick trefoil, is a native legume that blooms pink-purple in mid to late summer. Like purple prairie clover it fixes nitrogen, so two of our twelve species are actively improving soil conditions while they grow. It is also a larval host plant for several native butterfly species, meaning it supports the full life cycle rather than just providing nectar for adults.

Blanket flower blooms red and yellow from June through frost, giving it one of the longest bloom periods in the mix. It fills the late-season gap when many other species have finished and pollinators are preparing for winter. In Ontario, late-blooming native species are genuinely scarce in urban environments, and blanket flower is one of the most reliable ways to address that gap.

Common Evening Primrose

Evening primrose blooms from dusk through the following morning, which makes it the only species in the blend specifically supporting nocturnal pollinators. Moths, which are significant but often overlooked pollinators, are the primary visitors. In urban environments where artificial light already disrupts moth populations, a food source that works on their schedule rather than against it is worth including.

It also blooms prolifically across a long season from June through September and tolerates extremely poor soil, making it well suited to the roadside verges and vacant lots where our seed bombs most often land.

Anise Hyssop and Dotted Mint

Anise hyssop and dotted mint sit at 2% each, the smallest portions in the blend, but they punch above their weight ecologically. Both are in the mint family and both are exceptional bee plants. Anise hyssop in particular is considered one of the top native plants for honey bee and bumblebee forage in North America, with bloom spikes that remain productive over a long flowering period from July through September.

Dotted mint blooms lavender-pink in late summer and is a specialist plant for several native bee species in Ontario. We keep both at low percentages because they spread readily once established. A small seed investment produces a meaningful presence in the planting after two or three seasons.

The Full Blend at a Glance

Nine species. A bloom window that runs from June through the first frost. Nocturnal pollinator support, nitrogen fixation, larval host plants, and late-season seed heads for birds. This is what a native wildflower blend built for Ontario actually looks like, and it is what goes into every Ontario seed bomb we make. If you want to see the blend in action, our seed bombs are available here, made in small batches in Montreal.